Background: Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Sint Maarten is shared with France (whose northern portion is named Saint Martin and is part of Guadeloupe).

Geographic coordinates: 12 15 N, 68 45 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: total:960 km²; land:960 km²; water:0 km²; note:includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin)
Comparative: more than five times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: total:10.2 km; border countries:Guadeloupe (Saint Martin) 10.2 km

Coastline: 364 km

Maritime claims: exclusive fishing zone:12 nm; territorial sea:12 nm

Climate: tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds

Terrain: generally hilly, volcanic interiors

Elevation
Extremes: lowest point:Caribbean Sea 0 m; highest point:Mount Scenery 862 m

Natural resources: phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only)

Land use: arable land:10%; permanent crops:0%; permanent pastures:0%; forests and woodland:0%; other:90% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA km²

Natural hazards: Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October

Population: 207,827 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 1.01% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality: noun:Netherlands Antillean(s); adjective:Netherlands Antillean

Ethnic groups: mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian

Languages: Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) predominates, English widely spoken, Spanish

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Seventh-Day Adventist

Age structure: 0-14 years:26% (male 27,160; female 26,149); 15-64 years:67% (male 65,781; female 73,054); 65 years and over:7% (male 6,538; female 9,145) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.01% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 17.11 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 6.58 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.43 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 est.)

Environment
Current issues: NA
International agreements: party to:NA; signed, but not ratified:NA

Sex ratio: at birth:1.05 male(s)/female; under 15 years:1.04 male(s)/female; 15-64 years:0.9 male(s)/female; 65 years and over:0.72 male(s)/female; total population:0.92 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 12.59 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population:74.25 years; male:72.19 years; female:76.41 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.09 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Literacy: definition:age 15 and over can read and write; total population:98%; male:98%; female:99% (1981 est.)

Country name: conventional long form: none; conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles; local long form: none; local short form: Nederlandse Antillen

Government type: parliamentary

Capital: Willemstad

Administrative divisions: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note:each island has its own government

Independence: none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

National holiday: Queen's Day, 30 April (1938)

Constitution: 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended

Legal system: based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state:Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Jaime SALEH (since NA October 1989); head of government:Prime Minister Miguel POURIER (since 25 February 1994); cabinet:Council of Ministers elected by the Staten; elections:the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002); election results:Miguel POURIER elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote_NA

Legislative branch: unicameral States or Staten (22 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections:last held 30 January 1998 (next to be held by NA 2002); election results:percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party_PAR 4, PNP 3, SPA 1, PDB 2, UPB 1, MAN 2, PLKP 3, WIPM 1, SEA 1, DP-St.M 2, FOL 2; no party won enough seats to form a government; note:the government of Prime Minister Miguel POURIER is a coalition of several parties

Judicial branch: Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch)

International organization participation: Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WMO, WToO (associate)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
From the us: chief of mission:Consul General James L. WILLIAMS; consulate(s) general:J.B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao; mailing address:P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao; telephone:[599] (9) 4,613,066; FAX:[599] (9) 4,616,489

Flag description: white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten

Economy overview: Tourism, petroleum transshipment, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. The islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure as compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, with Venezuela, the US, and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture.

Real gdp growth rate: -1.8% (1997)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity_$11,500 (1997 est.)

Agriculture products: aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit

Industries: tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao)

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 89,000
By occupation government: 65%
By occupation industry and commerce: 28% (1983)

Unemployment rate: 14.9% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Budget: revenues:$710.8 million; expenditures:$741.6 million, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1997 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $268.2 million (f.o.b., 1997)
Commodities: petroleum products 98% (1993)
Partners: US 28.6%, Honduras 6.4%, Belgium-Luxembourg 6%, Italy 4.9%, Guatemala 4.5%, Costa Rica 4% (1996)

Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
Commodities: crude petroleum 64%, food, manufactures (1993)
Partners: Venezuela 34%, US 16.4%, Mexico 15.5%, Netherlands 5%, Italy 3.5%, Brazil 2.8% (1996)

Debt external: $1.35 billion (1996)

Exchange rates: Netherlands Antillean guilders, gulden, or florins (NAf.) per US$1: 1.790 (fixed rate since 1989)

Electricity
Production: 1.4 billion kWh (1996)
Production by source: fossil fuel:100%; hydro:0%; nuclear:0%; other:0% (1996)
Consumption: 1.4 billion kWh (1996)
Exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Telephones: NA

Telephone system: generally adequate facilities; domestic:extensive interisland microwave radio relay links; international:2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations_2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Airports: 5 (1998 est.)
With paved runways: total:5; over 3,047 m:1; 1,524 to 2,437 m:2; 914 to 1,523 m:1; under 914 m:1 (1998 est.)

Railways: 0 km

Merchant marine: total:95 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 811,782 GRT/1,045,989 DWT; ships by type:bulk 2, cargo 26, chemical tanker 2, combination ore/oil 3, container 10, liquefied gas tanker 4, multifunction large-load carrier 19, oil tanker 4, passenger 1, refrigerated cargo 18, roll-on/roll-off cargo 6; note:a flag of convenience registry; includes ships of 2 countries:Belgium owns 9 ships, Germany 1 (1998 est.)

Disputes international: none

Illicit drugs: money-laundering center; transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe